Introducing Your Next Vacation Spot: Grenada

We were only home long enough from Washington to catch up on work, complete one more round of Whole30, unpack our cold weather gear, bring our summer clothes down from the attic and hit the road for an island that was new to both SVV and me: Grenada.

But this trip had been in the works longer than most: It was nine whole months ago Villa Solitaire owner Susan invited us down to her family home. And being an up-for-anything-kind-of-gal, Grenada virgin and certified beach junkie, my immediate answer was: “YES,” closely followed by, “my next availability is January. Will that work?”

Thankfully, Susan was patient and flexible, and the more I dreamed about her family’s vacation rental, the more I figured it would be a little bit sad to have this amazing four-bedroom home—or five, if you count the library with its pullout couch—to ourselves and not have others to share the experience with. Which is how my mom, along with bestie Jade, her daughter Augustine, and her parents Micki and Matt, all came to find themselves on the Spice Island with us for seven glorious nights last month.

Not a bad-looking crew, eh?

Everything about this trip was a dream, starting with our base. We were about 20 minutes east of the capital in Westerhall—which is not, come to find out, a mythical land in Game of Thrones, but rather a high-end residential development on a peninsula on the southern tip of Grenada—and boasted a verdant two acres of lush foliage that was at our disposal.

Oh yeah, and a pool. And a tennis court. And in-house cooks. And access to an exclusive neighborhood beach. And a number of fruit trees that were, literally, ripe for the picking.

Basically, there was no need to leave the property for an entire week. And yet, I’d say we did a pretty admirable job at canvasing Grenada’s 133 square miles. We visited cocoa plantations. We hiked out to waterfalls. We discovered a brewery. We went tubing down a river.

Oh, and we did plenty of AcroYoga, because this is us, after all.

Of all the visits I’ve made to the Caribbean, I’ve never stayed in a standalone vacation rental, but for a group our size, this was definitely the way to go. We made good use of that house, too, some days not leaving until well into the afternoon.

And I’m pretty pleased my mom was able to join us and line up a series of sitters for Dad, because Lord knows she deserved a break after a full year of caretaking duties. (A huge thanks to all those who helped out back home, my sister in particular, who helped make this trip a reality!)

I’ve got plenty of Grenada dispatches to come, but first: Have you heard of the island? Or should I start from the very beginning?

A great location for a family, for sure. Coming from the part of Europe you guys are in, I definitely think you’d like the authenticity and history of Grenada (versus a more touristy island, as there are indeed many of those).

There are so many islands in that region that I don’t know much about. Islands that aren’t even on my radar. Grenada is one of them. I would love more information on it so that I can make a better case to myself as to why I would splurge to visit this island 🙂

I’m sure most Americans would say the same about islands in Europe, too! The islands are small but you have to fly among the majority of them, so you’d really need a good six months to explore a chunk of the Caribbean—or, you know, a yacht 😉

We are in the Caribbean right this minute, for the first time ever (if you don’t count one trip to Puerto Rico, which I don’t for some reason). I am really enjoying the mix of relaxing but still plenty of things to explore. I know you have been all over the region and it looks like Grenada needs to be up there on my list of where to go next. I think I’m pretty much sold on island life, so now it’s just a matter of time!

Ahhhh, I can’t wait to catch up on your trip, Julie! I really hope you make it to Grenada someday. And I need to make it to Puerto Rico still, too! (Why don’t we count that as the Caribbean? In my mind, it isn’t either, but I’m not sure why!)

I’ve heard of it (something to do with James Bond perhaps. As in my mind, all the islands are connected). However, I really don’t know anything about the Caribbean. I’ve only been to the Dominican Republic yonks ago. And I didn’t really like it…! I know. I’m mad!

They told us that Brits and Germans were their biggest market, so I’m not surprised you’ve heard about it over there! I didn’t like the DR AT ALL, so I’m with you, girl. There are so many awesome Caribbean islands, and this some tourist eyesores like Punta Cana—you should definitely give the region another chance 😉